Garforth Town 2 Hartlepool United 1
THE pre-season embarrassments for Hartlepool United just keep coming.
After being left red-faced by Leeds United's hiding on Saturday, a largely second-string Pools side suffered an equally humiliating 2-1 defeat at Northern Counties League outfit Garforth Town last night.
Yes, pre-season results have about as much significance as getting two numbers in the National Lottery.
But the concerns over the resources at Pools' disposal were hardly soothed by defeat against a side lying five levels below them in the football pyramid.
As expected, it was a patchwork team containing three trialists and Pools' band of young professionals.
But Pools had seven players on show at the Genix Healthcare Stadium who all enjoyed runs in the first-team either last season or in previous years and can be hardly be classed as rookies.
That is the big worry for Pools' fans with the League One opener just 10 days away and not a single outfield player yet to be brought to Victoria Park this summer.
If they don't strengthen, Pools will have to rely on the likes of Colin Larkin, Jon-Andre Fredriksen and Armann Bjornsson and on last night's evidence, that doesn't bode well for another testing League One campaign.
Chris Turner was understandably outspoken in his post-match comments as he stressed the need for fresh faces.
But the director of sport has to take a portion of the blame for handing two-year contracts last summer to players who are not showing the required hunger to force their way into the first team.
Larkin and Fredriksen, used as the central midfield duo as Pools reverted to a more traditional 4-4-2, were particularly culpable – horribly wasteful in their passing with far too many balls played behind their team-mates.
But it would be unfair to simply label the blame on two because there were so many culprits who looked alarmingly lethargic.
Peter Hartley and Steve Haslam were both shaky in the two full-back positions while Denis Behan, on-trial strike partner Mark Wilson and right winger Michael Mackay never imposed themselves on the Garforth back four.
In fact, it was the Garforth strike force who posed by far the greater threat with the tricky Paul Walker and powerful Chimbunka a touch unfortunate not to make the scoreline even more emphatic.
On-trial centre-back Philip Pedersen struggled alongside first-year professional Paul Johnson, one of the few players on show who came out with any credit.
Pederson's fellow free agent Wilson was similarly frustrating – more concerned with scoring a wonder goal than holding up the ball and bringing any of his team-mates into play.
Ironically, Pools almost got off to a flier just 90 seconds into the game when Jon-Andre Fredriksen floated in an inswinging free-kick from the right onto the head of Johnson who crashed his header against the bar.
But Pools then started to look complacent and Garforth began to dominate possession – almost breaking the deadlock in the 16th minute after the Pools defence was stretched by a ball over the top.
Walker easily went down the outside of Steve Haslam on the left-hand side of the box before pulling the ball back to skipper and ex-Leeds United midfielder Oliver Hotchkiss on the edge of the area who scuffed his shot badly wide.
Three minutes later, Walker sold trialist Pederson with a feinted shot on the edge of the area before letting fly with a powerful left-footed effort across goal which Pools keeper Andy Rafferty did well to parry behind low to his left.
The pressure eventually told in the 24th minute when a free-kick from deep was headed across the face of goal by Walker.
Strike partner Chimbunka allowed the ball to roll across him while holding off Johnson before striking an unstoppable volley into the net on the turn.
Pools struggled to exert any pressure before the interval – Behan's left-footed shot from 25 yards down the keeper's throat, the closest they came to a first half leveller.
Garforth almost put the seal on a free-flowing move seven minutes into the second half.
Walker played a one-two with left-back Chris Fisher who played a well-weighted return ball down the left-hand channel of the area.
Walker's run had not been tracked by the Pools midfield and the striker was able to pull the ball back for Chimbunka who created a yard of space for himself before smashing a powerful shot off the top of the bar.
A deserved second goal for Garforth arrived in the 59th minute after the hosts appealed for a penalty for a tackle by Hartley on left-winger Dominic Blair.
As both sides watched the referee wave play on, the impressive Hotchkiss pounced on the loose ball and swept it into the far top corner.
Only an athletic save from Rafferty prevented a third for Garforth two minutes later as the Pools centre-halves backed off while Chimbunka and substitute Tony Banford played a one-two.
The pair got the ball to the edge of the area before Chimbunka let fly on his right with a shot that Rafferty parried high to his left.
Pools substitute Billy Greulich should have halved the deficit moments later when he robbed centre-half Matt Dempsey in the left-back spot and darted inside before scuffing a left-foot shot harmlessly wide of the near post.
But Pools were handed a respite in the 64th minute after Greulich's pull-back from the right found its way to Larkin on the edge of the area.
Larkin suckered Banford into a mindlessly rash challenge and the referee awarded the penalty which Behan smashed down the middle of the goal.
But there was no late surge for an equaliser from Pools – not even much huff and puff to put Garforth under any remote pressure.
A third straight pre-season defeat at another non-league outfit in Whitley Bay tonight would really have the alarm bells ringing on the eve of an increasingly-ominous looking new season.
Garforth: Kelsey (Kamara 77), Cutler, Fisher (Villeman 77), Dempsey, Small, Price, Clark (Banford 46), Hotchkiss, Walker, Chimbonda (Priestley 70), Blair (Ormsby 70).
Pools: Rafferty, Haslam, Johnson, Pederson (Bjornsson 46), Hartley, Mackay, Larkin (Sharples 76), Fredriksen (Martin 76), Roberts, Behan (Blackford 76), Gonzalo (Greulich 46)
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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